21 Books To Read By The Age Of 21 (Even If You Hate Reading!)

You’re a young adult now and it’s high time you experience all that the world has to offer. You can’t always travel and meet new people and hold stimulating conversations with them, but you can read books and live someone else's life, and delve into their most private thoughts, without even moving. Here are 21 such books that every girl must read before she turns 21!

1. City Of Djinns

It will change the way you look at history and will make you want to go back to your textbooks, read again and know better what happened to Delhi, and why. You can’t really claim to be a true Dilliwallah, until you’ve read this book.

2. The Kite Runner

It will shock you with its characters and the kind of sacrifices they make for each other, and it will restore your faith in the workings of the universe, and humanity. This book will stay with you for long after. Price: Rs. 195. Buy it here.

3. The Secret

Did you know that the power to live the life you want lies within you. Yes, maybe you’ve heard of it before, but this book will convince you that it’s true, and will leave you feeling happier, positive and much more in control of your life. Isn’t that the secret we’re all seeking, anyway?Price: Rs. 256. Buy it here.

4. Rich Dad, Poor Dad

We keep chasing money all our lives, without ever knowing how to make it stay. This book, then, will teach you how to do just that. It will educate you about money, and help you understand just how you can make money work for you, instead of working for money all your life. Price: Rs. 199. Buy it here.

5. One Hundred Years Of Solitude

What is life? What purpose does it serve? No, this book won’t give you answers to it, but it’ll tell you the story of a family, over many generations - and you may just end up feeling like you now have a broader perspective about life. Price: Rs. 255. Buy it here.

6. The Palace Of Illusions

We’ve all heard just one side of the story to the Mahabharata, and need to know the other one too. And this time, let’s hear it from the one who is actually blamed for it all. Yes, Draupadi tells her tale in this book, and it’s worth a read. Price: Rs. 186. Buy it here.

7. I Am Malala

A nobel prize winner in her teenage? Must have a hell of a story. Malala sure does. But what is even more exciting is how she narrates the story of Pakistan- its history, and the people we hardly ever bother ourselves with. Price: Rs. 200. Buy it here.

8. Outliers

So you believe in luck? Well, this book is going to tell you how it’s a farce, and shove facts and research at you, to prove to you that hard way paves the way. It is inspiring and encouraging, and makes you believe in the balance of the universe. Price: Rs. 287. Buy it here.

9. The Shiva Trilogy

Imagine Lord Shiva. And now imagine him as a commoner, not a Lord, at all. If your gods are common people, how would their life, their values be? This fictional piece, with mythology as its backdrop will stun and stir emotions within you, and make you want to read the entire trilogy.
Price: Rs. 400. Buy it here.

10. Harry Potter Series

Because if there ever was a series that could enchant an entire generation, it is this. And you can not NOT read it. Price: Rs. 2,999. Buy it here.

11. Gulliver’s Travels

What if the world wasn’t the way we know it? Or, what if there were several worlds, all different from each other that we don’t know about? Oh, this book will make you wonder.Price: Rs. 230. Buy it here.

12. The Catcher In The Rye

Forget what society has taught you, and do not act like the nice kid. What does it feel like? It feels like the protagonist of the story, who thinks the world is a farce, and tells you why through a few days in his life. He’s quite funny, too. Price: Rs. 200. Buy it here.

13. The Fountainhead

When it’s a fight between passion and money, you do not always choose passion. But what happens to someone who does? This book. It is simply unputdownable. Price: Rs. 299. Buy it here.

14. Gone With The Wind

If you are a sucker for romance, you will love, love, love this book. With strong characters and their changing lives, this one that will stay with you for all your life. Yes, all your life. Price: Rs. 256. Buy it here.

15. Roots

Where have you come from? Who are your forefathers? Where did they live? What did they do? Does it matter? You will find the answer to this last question through this interesting story, of one family, over several generations. You can’t miss this.Price: Rs. 401. Buy it here.

16. My Feudal Lord

We hardly ever read much about the lives of the people of Pakistan. Rarer still, about the lives of the women of Pakistan. This honest account that scandalised the world, will give you some perspective about the life that women in purdah lead.Price: Rs. 291. Buy it here.

17. SITA

You know the Ramayana, yes, but you don’t know why it continues to play a major role in our lives, even today, 2500 years later when it was first written. This brilliant book talks about aspects of the Ramayana that will make you wonder and understand this epic, better. Price: Rs. 327. Buy it here.

18. Chronicle Of A Corpse Bearer

A story about love, loss, religion, abandonment, loneliness and courage - all told through the life of a single corpse bearer. Price: Rs. 233. Buy it here.

19. The Inheritance Of Loss

This book will take you back in time, and help you understand why our society is the way it is, how colonialism met the modern world, half way, and how somehow we’re just stumbling on our feet since then. It shows the struggles, the victories and the losses that its characters live through, and these will touch your heart.Price: Rs. 281. Buy it here.

20. The Twentieth Wife

We’ve all heard about Nur-Jahan, but we hardly know about Mehrunissa, the love of Jahangir’s life. This historic love story is the stuff girls dream of, but what makes it even more magical is the fact that it actually happened, and happened in all splendour. This book will make you want to read more. Price: Rs. 281. Buy it here.

21. A Suitable Boy

This book by Vikram Seth, might take you some time to read, no, not because it’s difficult, but because it’s lengthy, and yet it’s totally worth it. Set against the Indian society, you will totally relate to the struggles of Lata’s mother, in finding her a suitable boy to marry…Price: Rs. 647. Buy it here.
So grab a cup of coffee and start reading. What are you waiting for?